BLAST KILLS 18 IN SPAIN 14 AMERICANS HURT, MOST FROM U.S. BASE

An explosion demolished a steakhouse packed with U.S. servicemen Friday night, killing at least 18 people and injuring 71 others, including at least 14 Americans, authorities said.

At least six people were reported buried in the rubble of the collapsed three-story building housing the Descanso restaurant.

The cause of the explosion had not been determined. The owner of the Descanso restaurant and his son both said they were convinced the explosion was caused by a bomb, and noted that the kitchen's propane gas canisters were not damaged.

There were no claims of responsibility, but the civil governor of Madrid, Jose Maria Rodriguez Colorado, said "there might be possibilities" that it was a bomb.

Two Basque newspapers denied radio reports that they had received anonymous calls claiming the explosion on behalf of the Basque separatist group ETA.

A large crowd of angry Americans who gathered to find news of missing friends scuffled with police trying to hold them out of the rescue area. At least one American was reported to have been detained.

Those injured by the explosion included at least 14 Americans, most of them from the nearby U.S. Air Force base at Torrejon, who suffered only minor injuries, authorities said. It was not known if any Americans were among the dead.

The Descanso was filled with about 200 patrons, about half of them Americans, at the time of the blast. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion seconds before the walls and ceiling of the restaurant came crashing down about 10:30 p.m.

Police, firefighters and Red Cross rescue workers rushed to the scene shortly after the explosion and began pulling away slabs of concrete to free people trapped under rubble and to remove bodies.